Bloomerang

Kommentare: Our organization moved from Raiser's Edge to Bloomerang just over a year ago. If you are familiar with Raiser's Edge, you likely understand that this is a massive transition to undertake both technologically and fundamentally--but I'm glad we did. We moved away from Raiser's Edge because we needed software that was powerful yet highly intuitive and didn't ship with a price tag that is difficult to justify. A year later, all of my team members are comfortable using the CRM and do so wherever they need to because it relies only on a web browser and internet connect -- no proprietary software or hardware required; no desk to which you're chained. There is a lot of power in Bloomerang at a price point that I guarantee will fit any budget, and the Bloomreang team does a great job of creating a product experience that actually has you celebrating the renewal date because you can cut the check knowing you made an excellent choice. From our first call with the sale's rep and through 12+ months of communication, I have enjoyed our experience with Bloomerang and look forward to many years as a client.

Vorteile: Greater than the Bloomerang CRM itself is the company's incredible support team that is not only quick to respond and meaningfully engage, but does so humanely. Too many vendors staff their support teams with specialists who are technically proficient, but lack the ability to translate their knowledge into kind and understanding support. Without this type of support, clients like me would be left frustrated, defeated and with unresolved issues. Boomerang recognizes that their software AND support team needs to be human, and they do a great job putting this understanding into practice. This understanding is well-implemented in the software itself which requires minimal training to comfortably navigate and use. I am able to train-in team members on Bloomerang's basic functions within 60 minutes, and thanks to the software's intuitive interface, team members aren't intimidated by what they see on-screen, allowing them to explore Bloomerang's functionality on their own. This ease-of-use rings true for me as an administrator, too. Because I can swiftly navigate through the CRM's features, I am more efficient with my time and able to focus on completing projects and tasks without needing to consult a encyclopedia-length user manual. Overall, I have found that Bloomerang's great product and excellent support has elevated our team's ability to do our jobs well. We're not bogged down in the software anymore. We're focused on fundraising.

Nachteile: There are a lot of strategic opportunities for the Bloomerang team to take advantage of as they continue to grow as a company, and an area where I'd like to see growth is with third-party integrations. There is currently a MailChimp integration in the pipeline, but I'd also love to see the door open to platform access through API integration services such as Zapier, which would allow customers like me to easily and securely connect Bloomerang to other key software in use within our department and organization.

Kommentare: Having bloomerang has allowed us to be able to have all of our data in one place instead of having multiple spreadsheets in various places. It helps when finding information for potential donation requests and providing back up. I like that all employees can access information for all of our constituents in one place so we can tell who talked to who and when. It has helped to streamline many of our functions.

Vorteile: The ease of use of the software, getting to the necessary information is very easy. I also like the on-demand tutorials, this allows the user to reference something they don't know how to do and watch a live example. I also like the support chat feature, you never have to wait very long and they always assist with finding the best option.

Nachteile: The only feature that I struggle with is that you cannot use the event registration feature if there is no payment. I know they can fill out a form that we can add to our website, but there should be a way to allow the use of a registration form without payment.

Kommentare: Exceptional. The best ever experience I have had with a database product vendor.

Vorteile: 1. Ease of use: Bloomerang has been easy to learn even for staff members with limited data base experience. Data pages are large and easy to read.Information on the home page is helpful. It is easy to manage and change settings.
2. Customer support: If having difficulty with any aspect of Bloomerang, customer support is only minutes away. I have never had to wait for a response to a requst for a chat. Futhermore, every customer support person provided easy to understand answers, was always friendly and never made me feel unimportant.
3. Always making improvements. The Bloomerang team provides an easy way to make suggestions for future improvements and they are always adding improvements. Plus they communicate well about the improvements.
4. Cost. At the time of our purchase, Bloomerang was a mid-priced option. I do not know how the price compares to other options now but if it is still a mid-range or higher option, it is worth every penny.
5. Reporting is very flexible.
6. The ability to link people in the database and combine them into households. This is very important for a school environment.

Nachteile: I really do not have any dislikes of Bloomerang. The reason is because if I ever have difficulties, I contact them and receive immediate assistance.

Vorteile: Simple and intuitive on the surface. Donation/timeline entries are fast and easy. Letter generations is mostly easy. As long as you're not serious about getting legit data out of your software, and don't need to make major mass improvements due to the collateral damage of importing from other software, you might like it. Customer support is probably the best I've ever had.

Nachteile: No mass update option--has cost us dozens of hours of productivity. Some of their reports use bad math, but apparently they're working on fixing that. It's impossible to run certain kinds of reports that were easy in other software. They're apparently working on a big improvement to reports, but it's going to be months before it comes out. Email newsletter option is insanely feature-sparse--had intended to switch to it, but after trying to use it and discovering it's limitations, I'm sticking with MailChimp. There's not way to export letters in an editable form (pdf download is the only option). In general, I've lost SO MUCH functionality and productivity after my switch from eTapestry. I do believe they are genuinely trying to grow and improve this product. They at least don't stonewall some of the criticism and acknowledge things that need improvement, but their capacity to actually improve the product and fix bugs seems extremely limited. Fixes and improvements come out about as fast as molasses pours in Antarctica, and there's an obvious disconnect between what the developers think is needed, and what real fundraisers actually really need.

Kommentare: We have loved Bloomerang since our conversion 18 months ago. The fact that they continue to add features and request input from customers is great. Highly recommend the solution for other small organizations.

Vorteile: The ease of use and cloud-based platform make this solution the perfect donor management system for our small nonprofit ministry. We love the key features and the team is terrific.

Nachteile: Since it is a "newer" solution, it isn't as feature-rich as some long-time industry players, but that also means it isn't overly complex, which is a plus for us.